Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that A Most Wanted Man is a spy drama based on a novel by John Le Carre (The Constant Gardener, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). It's also one of the final films of the late, great actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. A woman is abducted and imprisoned by the good guys, who need her help in catching a bad guy. Characters are also violently arrested, and there's a car crash. A character describes how his mother was raped at age 15 and died during childbirth. Language is infrequent but does include several uses of "f--k." Two characters pretend to kiss to avoid being spotted, and some scenes take place in a "red light" district with sex shops shown in the background. The main character drinks and smokes in several scenes, though he never appears to have a dependency problem. Though the material overall isn't terribly edgy, the movie is slow and thoughtful and isn't likely to have wide teen appeal.
Sexual
Content
Two spies pretend to kiss to avoid being spotted. Several scenes take place in a red light district with "sex shops" in the background.
Violence
A woman is abducted, a bag is pulled over her head, and she's held prisoner -- but her captors are the good guys, and there's no sense of real danger, though she is treated somewhat roughly during her stay. A man tells a harrowing story of his childhood. His father raped his mother when she was just 15, and she died when he was born. An old woman and her grown son are arrested; the son is smashed up against a wall. There's a car crash and some struggling as people are arrested.
Language
"F--k" is heard several times. "Crap" is heard once.
Social
Behavior
Some subtle messages about how the main character wants to do things correctly, taking his time, while his bosses demand quick results, regardless of how well the job is done. Based on a past failure, the main character has learned to take his time, so as not to endanger those he works with. A small crime is overlooked so that a larger crime can be accounted for. A secondary character chooses not to accept millions of euros that are rightfully his because he disagrees with how the money was obtained.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
The main character drinks whisky and/or brandy in several scenes (in one scene, he adds something from a flask into a coffee) and smokes several cigarettes. He doesn't appear to have a dependency problem, but these things do appear to be the result of feeling down and out. Other supporting characters are also seen drinking throughout the film.
